title: Congenital toxoplasmosis in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil: a neglected infectious disease?
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the distribution of congenital toxoplasmosis in the state of Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil and describe the demographic and socioeconomic profile of the municipalities associated with the disease. An ecological study was conducted using socioeconomic indicators of a database (MGSSRI) created by Fundação João Pinheiro (a government technical support agency of Minas Gerais), in order to show the development of the municipalities in the state. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis was the outcome and the items of the MGSSRI were the explanatory variables. Of 146,307 newborns screened (November 2006 to May 2007), 190 had congenital toxoplasmosis, yielding a prevalence of 1·3/1000, ranging from 0 to 76·9/1000 in the municipalities. The multivariate model indicated a higher occurrence of toxoplasmosis in municipalities with smaller populations and worse indexes of tax performance. Congenital toxoplasmosis appears to be a neglected disease in the state of Minas Gerais, given the high prevalence found and its concentration in municipalities with worse socioeconomic indexes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: E V M
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Carellos
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine and Belo Horizonte Observatory for Urban Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Caiaffa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: G M Q
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, School of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: M N S
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.affiliation: Center for newborn screening and genetic diagnosis (NUPAD), School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Januário
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000453:epidemiology*